movie review of Dr Caligary

           The Cabinet of Dr. Caligary  is a German silent movie directed by Robert Wiene

in 1920. It displays the story between Francis, the pretty girl Jane and the evil

doctor, Dr. Caligary. Lines of frames of the walls, buildings and even the streets are

curly; the terrible murdering and the action of people show us the crazy and dark

side of human being.

             Francis and an old man are sitting together, when the beautiful, morbid

looking young woman Jane goes pass by them, Francis’ memories are woke up. The

 flashback begins and Francis tells a story to the old man; that’s a story of him.

             Francis and his beat friend Alan both fall in love with the young lovely Jane

and plan to marry her.  Jane doesn’t make the decision between them and their

friendship is not affected; they are still best friends. One day there is a fair in this

German village, Alan asks Francis to go with him. Francis agrees. It was the first time

that Francis sees Dr. Caligary; an evil looking, captivating man who lives with his

somnambulist, Cesre. Cesare lives in a small, coffin looking cabinet and has an ability

helps him to see the future of people. Dr. Calgary keeps him sleeps in the cabinet; he

can act and does what the doctor wants him to do. He says that Alan would die in

next morning; he hoes into Alan’s house and killed him in the night. No one connects

the event with Dr. Caligary but Jane found some evidences to prove that. Dr. Caligary

asked Cesare to kill Jane but he refused. He did catch Jane but released her right

after that. Then, Cesare died and Dr. Caligary quit. Francis told the insane asylum the

truth, Dr. Caligary was caught and sent there. He would spend the rest of his life in

there and never be released. Then, the narrative turns to Francis. The story is his

wondering; he, Jane and Cesare are the patient of the insane asylum. Caligary is a

doctor of the insane asylum, after Francis’ delusion he says he finds a way to cure

him.

             The movie is quite cool and unique which illustrates the dark and twisted

corner of the soul in a distorted way. Everything is from a patient’s fantasy; it’s an

unreasonable world built by strange imaginations. In this world, people’s mind are

 controlled by a mesmerist and most of them do not realize that. Maybe the life in

this village is boring, people are glad to see something new and different. The fair is

that new and different thing and Dr. Caligary is the one who catches most of the

eyeballs in there so he becomes more and more popular soon. People ignore his

criminal acts and believe in his word. Perhaps that’s not because he hides himself

well and no one knows what he really is. That’s just because people do not want to

lose something fresh and excited and that might be what they can not do but they

want to do. Even though it need to be paid by other’s life.

             In general, I like this movie. Not only because it’s stylish but also the music

and the acting. This is a silent movie but the music really brings up my feelings.

When Alan and Francis go to the fair, we can see many people there and they looks

so happy but with no noise. Of course the movie will be so boring if it’s just shows

people’s face and their words; that can’t pass on their emotions. The music makes

the scene different; the fast tempo makes it lively. And when Cesare tries to kill Alan

at night, the tune of the music goes lower and deeper, the tempo goes slower and we

can see like “this guy is going to do something bad”. After Alan’s death, Francis

shows a great sadness on his face. If there’s no music for this scene, I will think like

“what’s wrong with him” or “ what a patient” because it’s so wired that he looks sad

but with no sounds. There are so many examples like these in the movie, so I think

the music makes me feel much more about the it although it is silent. I also like the

acting and the make up; especially about Jane. She is a minor character in the movie,

but she brings up my feeling about it at the beginning. When she walks by Francis

and that old man, she’s like floating and looks really strange; the make up makes her

looks pale, sick but not so bad; especially in the picture down there:

In this scene, she dresses up and wears heavy make up that make she looks like a

woman who lives in 16^th century (that maybe gives Tim Burton movie influences

but I think this one is more Baroque and Tim Burton’s is more like Gothic style) .

First, she is just staring straightly and then, she turns her head backward slowly. She

thinks she is a queen. This acting is beautiful and strange enough to tell people that

she is not in a normal world, that’s a world of patients but full of imaginations.

People only think in their own way, no matter how crazy or twist it is. Right and

wrong, beauty and ugly, and even straight or curl become not that important. That’s

a real Utopia even though it only appears in the movie.

 the picture shows lines of the buildings in the movie

 a poster of the movie. Seems like Tim Burton's style

 this shot looks deep. That's Cesare carries Jane